Becky's Book Reviews

Today, I’d like to welcome YA author Sarah Noffke to my blog today. Sarah, who is the author of The Lucidites Series,  is here to chat about a subject that everyone,  but writers in particular, can relate to. Dreams  and fiction. This topic couldn’t have come at a better time, seeing as it’s the last day of 2014 and we’re about to step into 2015. A new year is always a chance for us to start on a blank slate – new plans, new dreams…  you get my drift. Given that Sarah’s series revolves around a girl whose dreams are premonitions of things to come, I thought it would be great for her to expand a little on the subject of dreams.  Before I hand over to Sarah, here’s some info on the Awoken, the first book in the series. Synopsis for Awoken: Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights. In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events. And in the backwoods of Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl is about to be caught...

Eek. Hiya there my fellow book nerds I’m so sorry for not posting these details any sooner. I’ve been focusing on wrapping up things at work before I go on leave (yay – tomorrow’s my last day for the year), which meant that my blog had to take a bit of a backseat. I finally have some time though, so without further ado, the winner of the YA hamper giveaway is… Muneera , whose response to question posted on the giveaway is as follows: The best book I've read this year is Landline by Rainbow Rowell. The male protagonist, Neal, is so dreamy. *sigh* he's grumpy and dislikes everything but, to paraphrase, loves his wife more than he hates everything else. Rainbow Rowell is a magical storyteller; her stories are engrossing and she writes the best female characters. Congratulations! Just a little reminder about what you've won: Please mail your details to me at tammybell78(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks to everyone else who entered the giveaway – and don’t worry, I’ve plenty of excitin...

Today, thanks to YA Bound Book Tours and Entangled Teen, I, amongst many other bloggers are hosting the cover reveal for Greta and the Goblin King and Greta and the Glass Kingdom. I read the first book a year or so ago, and really enjoyed it, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how Greta evolves in Greta and the Glass Kingdom. Check out the gorgeous covers below! Greta and the Goblin King  (Mylena Chronicles #1) by  Chloe Jacobs Release Date: 12/11/12 Entangled Teen Summary from Goodreads: While trying to save her brother from a witch’s fire four years ago, Greta was thrown in herself, falling through a portal to Mylena, a dangerous world where humans are the enemy and every ogre, ghoul, and goblin has a dark side that comes out with the eclipse. To survive, Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young goblin king, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams...

So, with it being festive season, and my birthday month, I’ve teamed up with the fabulous Tarryn from Pan Macmillan to bring you this awesome giveaway. In today’s giveaway, we’re offering one lucky reader a chance to win a hamper containing the following books: Cassandra Clare’s The Bane Chronicles, The Jewel by Amy Ewing, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl (yup, for those who didn’t get a chance to win a copy of the book last time), Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton. All you need to do is leave a comment telling me what the best book you’ve read this year is and you’ll be entered into this giveaway. Bonus entries if you tweet or promote it in any form whatsoever.  Being a follower is not required, but it is always appreciated. Giveaway closes on Sunday, 21 December. Winner announced on the same day. Update: Extending it until tomorrow, 22 December. This one’s open to South African residents only . International lovelies...

An enchanting little novel of hope and apple tarts, mixed with splashes of magic realism. Disclaimer: This review also appears on Women24.com , a South African women's lifestyle website where I manage, amongst other things, an online books section. The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (Published by Orion’s Children’s Books) Sarah Moore Fitzgerald’s The Apple Tart of Hope  is one of the most delightful books I’ve read this year.  I’ve always been a huge sucker for quirky book titles, so when this one arrived on my desk, I absolutely knew I had to read it. And what a captivating little read it turned out to be.  With his penchant for baking the world’s most delicious apple tarts, Oscar Dunleavy has always been the kind-hearted, charismatic boy whom everyone loves and adores. And no one is more aware of this than his younger brother, Stevie and his next door neighbour (who also happens to be his best friend), Meg. So, when he goes missing and most of the town p...

A magical, mystical and atmospheric retelling of Beauty in the Beast; the likes of which you’ve never seen before. Hemlock Veils by Jennie Davenport (published by Swoon Romance) About the book: When Elizabeth Ashton escapes her damaging city life and finds herself in the remote town of Hemlock Veils, Oregon, she is smitten by its quaint mystery; but the surrounding forest holds an enchantment she didn’t think existed, and worse, a most terrifying monster. The town claims it vicious and evil, but Elizabeth suspects something is amiss. Even with its enormous, hairy frame, gruesome claws, and knifelike teeth, the monster’s eyes speak to her: wolf-like and ringed with gold, yet holding an awareness that can only be human. That’s when Elizabeth knows she is the only one who can see the struggling soul trapped inside, the soul to which she is moved. Secretly, Elizabeth befriends the beast at night, discovering there’s more to his story and that the rising of the sun transforms him into a hu...